


Bound Hearts

by beautifulandsweet



Series: Next Adventure [2]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Action/Adventure, Aged-Up Character(s), Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:08:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 19,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25560343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beautifulandsweet/pseuds/beautifulandsweet
Summary: Falling in love was the easy part. Now that Ash has returned to Vermilion City, Ash and Goh must relearn how to live and work together. When Cerise Laboratory suffers an attack and Team Rocket puts a new scheme into motion, Ash and Goh must decide what their priorities are and whether their dreams still overlap.
Relationships: Gou | Goh/Satoshi | Ash Ketchum
Series: Next Adventure [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1852231
Comments: 15
Kudos: 102





	1. Dustox

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time trying out a fanfiction series, but I want to give it a shot. In my mind, this fic takes place about six months after the events of "Full Circle," but it can be read as a stand-alone fic.
> 
> This story started out as a fluff piece, but I couldn't help returning to the idea of "happily ever after" turning out to be a lot messier than Ash and Goh expected. 
> 
> Please let me know your thoughts and whether there's anything you want to see in this fic.

Goh had his face in Professor Cerise's book when something cold touched the back of his neck. "Hey!"

Giggling, Chloe placed the iced coffee on the table before taking a seat. "Hey, nothing. You're the one who called me out here on a Friday night. If you wanted advice from my dad," and she plucked the book out of his hands, "then you should've called him."

"Maybe I should have," Goh said without heat. He let her tuck the book into her bag. He'd borrowed that copy from the lab, anyway. "You look nice today."

"Thanks." Chloe tilted her head just so, and her ponytail bounced with a life of its own. Since she started at Celadon University, she had been wearing her hair shorter and letting her natural volume shine. The style suited her. “I have a date later. We’re going to the botanical gardens.”

"Mr. Boring couldn't think of anything else?" Goh made a show of looking under the table and around the coffee shop. "Where's Yamper hiding? He'll scare this guy off."

Chloe smacked his shoulder. "Yamper is home, we're done discussing my very interesting date, aaand we're back on you." She blew on her Roserade tea to cool it off. "So what's wrong? You sounded upset on the phone."

Goh folded his arms. "Nothing's wrong. I wanted to hang out, that's all. I hardly get to see you anymore."

"Mmhm." Chloe sipped her tea. "I would've thought you'd be hitting the town with your own date tonight."

Goh stared down at his coffee as if it had soured. "He's too busy with night classes."

In fact, Ash had been too busy for weeks. Between his new job during the day and online classes almost every night, Goh felt like he talked to Ash less now than when he had lived halfway across the world.

When Ash had moved back to Vermilion City, Goh had done everything in his power to keep him here. He helped Ash find an apartment close to the lab. When the lab wasn't hiring, Goh encouraged Ash to explore other options. He hadn't expected Ash to announce out of the blue that he wanted to teach at a Pokemon school, but if that's what he wanted, then Goh was happy to help him put together a resume and an impressive list of personal references. Within a month, Ash had a classroom full of devoted students, and Goh loved seeing the sparkle in his eyes whenever he talked about his latest adventures in teaching.

Unfortunately, to keep the job, Ash needed to earn a teaching certificate. He was up for the challenge, surprising everyone with his new studious manner. Goh had lost count of the times that he came home to find Ash snoring on the kitchen table with a textbook for a pillow. 

"I know that he's working toward his goals, and I want to cheer him on," Goh admitted to Chloe. "It's just... he hardly takes time to train his Pokemon. He never comes by the lab anymore." 

"You miss him." Chloe reached across the table to squeeze his hand. He smiled back.

"So much." Goh finally picked up his coffee. "I know he needs to focus on his goals right now, and I get that. I just wish he could take a break sometimes."

"Have you told him that?" Chloe drummed her fingers on the table. "I talked to Dad before I came down for the weekend. He says you've been putting in some long hours, too. Maybe you could both use a break." 

Goh perked up at that. He had been working late to finish an exciting new project. "You remember that Psy-Scanner that I designed to track Mew?"

Chloe nodded. Even though Goh never got a chance to use the app to look for Mew, the prototype had landed in the hands of Samson Oak, who used the app to track down a troublesome Hypno. Goh had bragged about it for weeks.

"Well, I think I can adjust the programming to detect aura." Goh pulled out his phone to show her the blue radar-like screen. "A Pokemon like Lucario can manipulate aura, but it's really just life force, right? So all Pokemon have it, and if I can use this to track that..."

"Hold up." Chloe set down her cup. "If you're going to nerd out, I need to sugar up first."

Goh huffed. "Wouldn't want to fall asleep on your date with Mr. Boring." Chloe laughed, just as he intended.

She hopped up to check out the desserts. After a moment, she flagged down the clerk. "Two chocolate PokePuffs, please." The clerk acknowledged her with a nod and turned to finish an order for the man standing by the till.

As she waited, Chloe checked the display case. This coffee shop always had the cutest cookies, and today was no exception. From his seat at the table, Goh watched his friend wavering between the frosted Pikachu cookies and the cupcakes frosted like Alcremie. He knew this decision could take a while. He reached for his book, only to remember that Chloe had taken it. 

Then he noticed the man by the till edging toward Chloe. When she finally turned to talk to the clerk again, she bumped into him. "Oh, sorry."

"No worries, sweetheart." The man towered over her. "Whoo! I think you might be hotter than this coffee."

Chloe tried to edge around him. "Sorry, um, I'm just going to grab my order." She glanced toward the table, where Goh was already getting to his feet. 

The man stepped even closer, trapping her against the display case. "Let me. Why don't you join me for a drink?"

Goh reached them and placed a hand on Chloe's shoulder. "You okay?" he asked. She nodded, and Goh turned toward the guy. "We were just going."

"I wasn't talking to you."

"Well, you're done talking to her. Come on, Chloe." Goh stared the guy down as he steered Chloe around him. He couldn't believe this was working.

Then the man shoved him back against the display case, hard enough to rattle the glass. He sucked in a breath at the painful impact. The man lifted a fist, but Goh was quicker. He held up his phone. "Careful. I'm recording."

The man paused long enough to notice Chloe, the other coffee drinkers who had stopped to watch the encounter, and the clerk who had called his Magmar out from the kitchen. Then he leaned into Goh's face, flicking at the phone with a finger. "This doesn't scare me, punk. Better hope I don't catch you alone."

Despite his threats, the man didn't linger. As soon as he left, Chloe and the coffee shop clerk converged on Goh to make sure he was okay. He waved off their concern. Chloe offered to cancel her plans. Goh kindly informed her that if she tried, he'd call Cinderace to chaperone her on her boring date. That startled a laugh out of her, and she promised to check in with him afterward.

Goh made it back to the lab before he let himself give in to self-pity. In the bathroom mirror, he checked out the damage. Hitting that glass case had left a nasty bruise between his shoulder blades. Pulling his shirt back on sent throbbing pain down both his arms. He sighed. It would hurt for a few days, but he'd been through worse.

On his way down to the park, he passed through the main lab. The professor would be busy with Chloe home for the weekend, so Goh had volunteered to run system maintenance. It only took a few minutes to start the process, and then he could leave it overnight. After that, Goh found a quiet corner to cuddle with the Dustox trio. He texted Ash not to wait up for him.

Chloe was right. Goh needed to talk to Ash, but first, he needed to figure out what to say. He didn't want to come across as needy or selfish, not when Ash had been working so hard to pursue his dreams. He remembered how that went when Scorbunny evolved. 

Goh and Ash had always been partners, relying as much on each other as on their Pokemon. They had pushed each other to grow and pursue their goals. When they started dating, Goh had assumed that they would continue to grow together. Lately, though, Goh couldn't help feeling like they were growing apart.

The three Dustox cooed as they fanned their wings over his lap. One crawled up on his chest and rubbed an antenna against his chin until he petted it. “It’s okay,” he murmured. “This is Ash we’re talking about. If he’s involved, everything will work out, right?” The Dustox continued to coo reassuringly.

The next thing Goh knew, he was startled awake by his phone chiming. Chloe had texted him that she made it home safely. He sent back a thumbs-up. Ash had not called or texted. Goh reasoned with himself that he had warned Ash not to wait up for him, so he shouldn't feel disappointed.

Tomorrow had to be better, right?


	2. Lucario

When Ash moved back to Vermilion City, he had searched high and low for a two-bedroom apartment. He shouldn't have bothered. As Goh pointed out, they had shared a bed more than once during their travels, and on those nights, they both slept better for it.

Even if they started the night back-to-back on either side of the bed, Ash usually woke up starfished across the center of the mattress with Goh clutching his middle like a Komala.

This morning was no different. Pikachu had claimed one of the pillows, but that didn't matter since Goh had one ear pressed to Ash's chest, as if listening to his heartbeat in his sleep. Ash reached down to brush a stray hair out of Goh's face, and his sleepy boyfriend nuzzled further into the front of his shirt. Ash's heart swelled.

He knew that things hadn't been perfect lately. Last night, Ash had fallen asleep over his laptop again, and if Goh hadn't come in late and tugged him toward bed, he would be waking up with the imprint of a keyboard on his face. That would've been a shame, since waking up like this had quickly become his favorite part of the day.

He glanced up at the shelf over the bed, which had quickly been filled with tournament trophies, framed photos of their friends, and a lone Pokeball. The Pidgey-shaped alarm clock was broken-- again-- so Ash had to fish for his phone to check the time. 

The movement must have disturbed Goh because two seconds later, blue eyes peeked up at him. "Mm... how long have you been up?"

"Not long." Ash curled down to kiss Goh. He pressed his lips over the scar on Goh's cheek. 

Goh whined impatiently and twisted to catch Ash's lips with his own, which was even better. 

"I don't want to move," Ash said. "It's Saturday. Neither of us have to work. Let's just stay here a while."

This wasn't strictly true. Ash had a test to study for, and he wanted to call Professor Kukui for advice about next week’s lesson plan… but that could wait for a few hours, couldn't it?

Goh rested his chin on Ash's chest while he considered. "I have hungry Pokemon waiting for breakfast," he pointed out. Then, because he knew how to motivate Ash: "You could come with me. Maybe we can grab coffee and some of those honey-glazed donuts on the way?"

Ash mouth watered. "Yeah, okay." 

Still, Ash felt like these moments with Goh had become a rarity. He wasn’t ready to let this one slide by. He wrapped an arm around Goh to pull him closer, but he stopped when Goh's breath hitched at the touch. 

"Are you okay?" Ash asked.

"Fine, just stiff." Goh rolled away, tugging Ash upward in the process. "Hey, do you think you can help me with an experiment this morning? I could use your help, if you're not busy."

Ash felt a twinge of guilt, hearing Goh hedge his request like that. Ash wanted to say, "I'm never too busy for you," but he hesitated, knowing that he hadn't been acting that way lately.

Goh noticed his hesitation and turned to ruffle through the dresser for some clothes. "It's okay. I'll just wait until next week, see if--"

"No, I'll do it."

"Really?" Goh turned with a grin that brought sunshine back into the room. "Thank you!"

If the guilt was a twinge before, that smile brought it crashing down like an anvil. Ash didn't want Goh to be thanking him for just hanging out. That should be a given. Ash ran a hand through his hair, resolving to find some way to whisk them both away on a real adventure in the near future. 

For now, he shook Pikachu awake and called into the other room for Cinderace to wake up, too.

“The name of the game is hide-and-seek,” Goh announced. “Lucario, you have two minutes to hide anywhere within Cerise Park. Then focus your aura until someone finds you. Do you understand?”

Lucario nodded with all the gravity of a war-hardened samurai. Beside him, his trainer rolled his eyes. “This seems less and less like an experiment. I thought you needed my help."

Goh studied Ash's face, unsure whether he was mad or not. He didn't want Ash to think he was wasting his time, so he hurried to explain, "I'm testing the new Aura Reader. It should detect Lucario's energy field and let me pinpoint his location. I need to see how it matches up against someone who can sense aura naturally."

“I thought you missed me, and here you just want me for my talents.” His tone was forlorn, but Ash grinned to let Goh know that he wasn’t serious. Goh relaxed at the familiar sight.

Then Cinderace tapped Goh's shoulder, distracting him. Cinderace pointed to his ears. "You want to play, too? That's great! We can test the app against Ash's aura reading and your excellent hearing." Cinderace preened. 

Ash, on the other hand, looked chagrined. "Aw, I wanted to make things interesting."

That caught Goh's attention. "What did you have in mind?"

"Best out of five," Ash said. "Winner gets to choose where we grab lunch."

"We just had breakfast!" Even so, Goh considered. He had hoped to go for ten rounds, but maybe that had been pushing his luck. He hadn't dared hope for a lunch date. Now that it was on the table, he was tempted to ditch the experiment altogether. He checked with Cinderace, who shrugged. "Okay, best out of five."

Ash grinned again. "You're blushing."

Goh knew that. He could feel the heat pooling in his cheeks, but he ignored it as he pulled up the app on his phone. "Let's focus on the work first, please. Come on, you promised to help."

"With your very important hide-and-seek experiment." 

Goh folded his arms and primly answered, “Yes, exactly. Are you ready or not?”

As Pikachu helpfully covered Ash’s eyes, Goh started the countdown. When he opened his eyes again, Lucario had vanished. So had Ash and Cinderace. "Hey! Cheaters!" Goh checked his screen, noted a blip on the left of the screen, and scrambled to catch up.

As Goh searched the park, his other Pokemon took notice of the game underway. Beedrill and Farfetch’d tagged along, poking around the bushes as Goh followed the signal on the screen. They found Cinderace behind a hedge about the time that Goh heard Ash shout, “Found you!”

Goh checked the screen against the tree where Lucario had been hiding. He and Cinderace had only missed Lucario’s hiding place by about thirty feet. 

Ash and Lucario rejoined them. By then, Cinderace had exchanged some words with Beedrill and Farfetch’d, who edged closer to the striker Pokemon. Goh studied the group. "Are you two switching allegiances?"

They were. With their help, Cinderace found Lucario first on the next round. Ash won the next two games. On the last round, Goh snuck past them both and found Lucario kneeling behind the stairs. Ash and Cinderace found Goh hugging Lucario and spinning them both around. “We did it! The Aura Reader works!”

Lucario shoved Goh away a moment later, and Cinderace admitted defeat with an exaggerated groan. Ash laughed. “Okay, game over. Who’s ready to eat?” Beedrill and Farfetch’d cheered.

“Is that all you think about?” Goh tapped a quick note into his phone before stashing it in his pocket. Then he sidled over to Ash and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Congrats on your win."

Ash reddened, but he shook his head sternly. "That's not the prize I'm after," he said, and Goh got the impression that they weren't talking about food anymore. "There's that blush again...."

Goh may have kissed him again, if only to shut him up.

Before they left for lunch, Goh needed to stop by the lab to finish the system maintenance. Ash stayed behind in the park to feed treats to Beedrill, Farfetch'd, and the rest. Goh suspected that Ash just didn't want a huge entourage joining them at a restaurant, but Pikachu and Cinderace wouldn't be bought off so easily.

Goh didn’t mind. In fact, after how sorry he’d been feeling for himself yesterday, today had him walking on air. He had some exciting new data, he had Ash to himself most of the morning, and the maintenance report showed that everything had run smoothly. 

Goh closed out of the windows on his computer, but just as he was about to leave, a download notification popped up in the corner of the screen. He did not recognize the file name, "dubdisc." 

His Rotom phone buzzed, and he pulled it from his pocket. The Aura Reader was still up on the screen, and it showed a large energy spike nearby. Goh glanced around the room. Cinderace had followed him, but he was pretty sure that Lucario had stayed in the park with Ash. 

Then the computer screen flickered and started to bend. Goh squinted, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. The monitor rippled as something emerged from inside.

Goh shoved his chair back, but he wasn't quick enough. A white beam of energy struck him in the chest, knocking him backward into a wooden shelf. Books clattered to the floor. Before Goh could catch his breath, Cinderace slid into a crouch in front of him. 

They both watched as a Pokemon erupted from the screen. Goh's Rotom phone, still miraculously in his hand, helpfully supplied, “Porygon-Z, the Virtual Pokemon. A faulty update has corrupted its programming, resulting in erratic behavior.”

Erratic behavior included firing a Shadow Ball at Cinderace, who knocked it back with a kick. Porygon-Z dodged the attack. The Shadow Ball connected with the overhead light, sending a shower of sparks down from the ceiling.

Goh tucked a hand against his still-spasming diaphragm. "I'm okay," he told Cinderace. "Try Double Kick!"

Cinderace bolted forward, but just as his foot would have connected, Porygon-Z shimmered and disappeared.

“Rotom, what was that?” Goh asked. 

“Conversion,” Rotom said. “This move converts the user’s type to the type of its last move.”

“So it’s Ghost type now.” Goh spun around, watching for any movement or shimmer in the air. Another energy beam shot past his face, hitting the bookcase again. Cinderace cried out and dashed back to Goh's side.

Goh tried to imagine how Ash would handle this. He didn't want to use any Fire attacks indoors, and Cinderace's Double Kick couldn't touch a Ghost type.

Another Shadow Ball struck Cinderace in the side. Goh decided he didn't have time to think like Ash. He had to play to his own strengths.

He sprinted to his desk and pulled a Pokeball out of the bottom drawer. When another energy beam shot at him, he ducked out of the way and threw a curveball. 

The Pokeball connected with the invisible Porygon-Z and clattered to the floor. It rocked three times before clicking.

"Whew." Goh slumped down. Cinderace followed suit. In the space of about two minutes, the lab had gone from pristine to disastrous, complete with strewn papers, scattered books, and a broken ceiling light swinging overhead. "Well, it could've been worse," Goh muttered.

Behind him, his monitor fell off the desk with a loud bang.


	3. Porygon-Z

"So this Porygon-Z just attacked you out of the blue?" Ash peered at the Pokeball on Goh's desk. The Porygon-Z jabbed its horn against the inside of the ball, as if testing for weak spots. Ash had caught testy Pokemon before, but he had never seen one remain so aggressive after the catch. Something about it gave him the shivers. 

On either side of him, Lucario growled, and Cinderace loomed with ears down and arms crossed. Apparently, they sensed something off, too.

On the other hand, Goh sat back in his chair with his arms loosely wrapped around Pikachu, who ignored the Pokeball in favor of sniffing the fresh scorch mark on Goh's shirt. Pikachu wrinkled his nose and sneezed, making his cheeks spark with static.

"I don't know," Goh said with an easy smile that felt out of place in the tense room, "but it's great, right? Porygon-Z is such a rare Pokemon that I didn't know when I'd ever get the chance to catch one. It's just not something you see in the wild."

Ash shook his head. Of course Goh would be thinking of his Pokedex. "Then what is it doing here?"

"You know how Rotom travels through electric lines? I think the Porygon line can do that, too, but they can also travel through the internet. It came out of my computer." Goh looked down at the broken monitor. Ash didn't envy him the task of explaining that one to Professor Cerise.

Ash glanced around the lab. He had missed the battle, but he had helped tidy up afterward. The mess reminded him of Gengar's pranks back when he had haunted the lab and tried to scare everyone away. Back then, Gengar had been filled with anger and resentment for his old trainer. Maybe this Pokemon was angry, too?

Lucario batted at the Pokeball. Tucking Pikachu to his chest, Goh lunged to grab it before it rolled off the desk. "Careful," he said. Lucario growled back at him. "What's with you?"

Cinderace inserted himself between Lucario and Goh. Ash could only see that going downhill, so he placed a hand on Lucario's shoulder. "What is it? Do you sense something?" Lucario jabbed a paw toward Porygon-Z.

Goh curled his hand around the Pokeball. He addressed Lucario directly. "Why are you acting like this? Zee is new here, and has never done anything to you."

"Zee?" Ash asked.

"Well, Porygon-Z is a mouthful." Goh glanced down. "Is a nickname okay with you?"

The Porygon-Z stopped jabbing at the Pokeball for the first time since Ash had entered the room. It seemed to consider Goh's question, and its head jerked once in a twitchy movement.

Lucario tilted his head. "Lu?" He stared at the Pokeball, no longer growling but obviously intent on something. 

Ash felt something, too. He didn't know how to explain it, but it seemed like the pressure in the air had dropped a little bit. He shrugged it off. As long as Lucario didn't start a fight with Cinderace, Ash would be happy.

Goh glanced back and forth between them. A moment later, Lucario moved to return to the park, Cinderace relaxed against the desk, and Pikachu ditched Goh for his usual perch on Ash's shoulder. Goh tucked the Pokeball in his pocket. "I don't really understand what just happened," he admitted. "Do you think we could just go?"

Ash understood. "Yeah. I know just the place."

"A food truck?"

Goh didn't know what he had been expecting, but this wasn't it. The truck had parked down by the bay so that the breeze wafted the tempting smell of fried food through the air. Ash directed Goh to sit on the nearby benches. "Don't judge until you try it. Trust me."

"Trusting you," Goh said, doubtfully. He did trust Ash's nose-- it had kept them well-fed on many a trip to unfamiliar cities-- if not his sense of taste. Goh had been hoping for something a little more romantic, like a fancy restaurant or even a picnic. A food truck sounded like food poisoning waiting to happen.

As Ash and Pikachu stood in line, Cinderace hopped up on the sea wall to walk on the edge like it was a balance beam. Beyond it, a cruise ship was pulling into port. Goh sighed. He envied all those people on their travels. He wondered when he and Ash would get to journey anywhere together again.

Then again... now that he was sitting here without a distraction, his back had started to ache. He considered asking Cinderace to place a warming paw over the ache, but then Ash would notice and get worried over nothing. He fidgeted, trying to find a more comfortable position.

Ash returned with a paper bag that smelled amazing. "One of the kids told me about this place," he said. "The owner just moved here from Hammerlocke. Look, Galarian curry!"

"Wow, that smells great!" Goh shifted so that Ash could place the containers on the bench. They divided equal portions onto four plates before Goh remembered Porygon-Z. "Hey, do you eat normal food?" In his ball, Zee turned away from him, so he guessed not. As Cinderace tucked into his plate, Goh checked his phone. "So you eat electricity?" he asked Zee. 

Pikachu glanced up from his food and slapped a paw on the Pokeball. Goh realized too late what was happening. When Pikachu zapped the ball, he fried Goh, too. "Why!"

Inside the ball, Zee clapped its fins. Pikachu pointed it out. "Pi-kah!"

Ash ruffled Pikachu's fur. "Good job, buddy." He took a huge bit of his curry and nodded toward Goh's plate. "You eat up, too."

Goh took a smaller bite of his. It tasted just like the curry they had eaten on the day that he caught Sobble. "Amaaazing."

"Right?" Ash leaned back and reached over a hand to rest on Goh's shoulder... and Goh practically leaped away form him. Ash narrowed his eyes.

Goh knew that look. He set down his plate and dodged Ash's arms just as they would have caught him around the waist. "Stop it," he said, stumbling back a step as he stood, "we're supposed to be eating!"

"Not until you tell me why you're avoiding me," Ash said. He set aside his plate, too. "I'm not an idiot. What's going on?"

"Avoiding you?" Goh froze. Is that how it had come off, when he'd been trying not to worry Ash? He felt terrible. "I'm not--"

Before he could get out the sentence, Ash tackled him. Goh yelped as they both hit the ground. "Get off!" They were in a park, in public! Ash ignored Goh's protests and the judgmental stares from passersby. He tugged Goh's shirt up at the hem, but he didn't find the bruise on Goh's stomach.

"Is it your back?" he asked.

No use hiding it now, it seemed. "Yes, you cave man. Now get off!" Goh shoved him away. Landing on his back for the third time in twenty-four hours left him more than a little cranky. Ash reached for his shirt again, intent on seeing the damage for himself, but Goh caught his wrist. "What is wrong with you?"

"Me?" Ash glared at him. "You're the one hiding injuries! If you would just tell me when you got hurt, I wouldn't have to--"

"You don't have to do anything," Goh hissed. "I just wanted one nice day, okay? I feel like I haven't seen you in weeks, and I didn't want to ruin it by worrying you over nothing."

"It's not nothing." Ash tugged his hand out of Goh's grasp. "By the way, it's not like I don't want to hang out. You're the one who's been living at the lab."

"Because you're busy studying! You think I want to wait around all evening while you ignore me?" Goh had spent half of his childhood waiting for other people-- for his parents, for his grandmother, for Mew. He had been understanding then, but if that's how his life was going to be from now on... the thought made him want to cry. Of course, he couldn't do that while Ash was still yelling at him.

"Well, excuse me for trying to keep my job! A job that you encouraged me to take!"

"Because you love it," Goh said. He could feel the tears coming and tried to swallow them down. "That's not what I'm mad about."

"Then why are you mad, huh?"

They were both still sitting on the ground, yelling at each other, while Cinderace and Pikachu watched from the bench. Goh noticed their pensive stares, and he steeled himself. They needed to have this talk. "Look..."

Ash's phone rang. "Incoming call, Professor Kukui. Incoming call..."

Ash picked it up, and Goh scoffed. "Really? We're in the middle of a conversation!"

"Like you don't _live_ on your phone," Ash snapped. He stood up and took the call. Goh watched in disbelief as Ash took a few steps away. "Hey, Professor."

If he didn't get out of there, Goh was going to cry, whether they were in public or not. He scrambled to his feet, ignoring the twinge in his back. He tucked his hands in his pockets and stalked in the opposite direction. Behind him, he heard Pikachu whine. A moment later, Cinderace fell into step beside him.

Goh made it around the corner before the tears started. He rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hand. Cinderace crooned his concern behind him, but Goh shook his head. "I'm fine, really." It would hurt for a while, but he would live.

Cinderace followed Goh back toward the lab.


	4. Arbok

Goh found their old room unlocked. Cerise Laboratory no longer housed any research fellows, since Ash had moved on and Goh had been promoted to research assistant. (Lateral move, he had complained more than once, since the professor now relied more on his technical skills than his field work.) There had been talk about using the space to host overnight guests, but Chloe's mother always insisted on visitors staying in the family's guest room. This room had remained virtually unchanged.

Goh still came here sometimes. The lab had been his home for so long that it was only natural for him to draw comfort from the space. True, the room needed dusting, and one of the desks buckled under a tall stack of file boxes. Even so, whenever Goh disappeared in the middle of an overwhelming project, Professor Cerise knew to look for him here. 

Cinderace found a familiar perch on the window sill, and Goh flopped onto his stomach on the bottom bunk. "Feels like old times, huh?" He had so many memories of this place-- the time Ash caught a cold and refused to stay in bed unless Goh kept him company, the time Ash's Alolan classmates visited and they had squeezed seven people into the small room before camping in the park instead, or that time Goh woke up from a nightmare and Ash crawled into the top bunk with him. Ash had calmed him down by telling stories about his first days as a trainer. Goh had been amazed to learn that at one time, Ash had wanted to catch every Pokemon, too. ("Is that why we got along so well to start with?" Goh had asked, and Ash had laughed. "Actually, I thought you were really strange at first.") Goh wished Ash were here now, so they could make up already.

Now that he had a little distance, Goh realized that he had acted like a child. Losing his temper, running away, crying... how embarrassing. He was still hurt by Ash's accusations and the remark about his phone, but he should have stayed to talk about it.

Goh wanted to call him now, but Ash probably needed to cool off, too. Come to think of it... Ash claimed to have been a hothead when he was younger, but for all their bickering, Goh rarely saw that side of him. Whenever Goh had seen Ash with his students, he had been the paragon of patience, answering the same questions over and over. 

"We're just stressed and taking it out on each other," Goh muttered to himself. From the window, Cinderace snickered. "You have something helpful to add?"

"Cinder, cinder." His partner sounded like he was indeed imparting sage-like wisdom, but Goh had no idea what it was. Then Cinderace's ears snapped toward the window. 

Goh yanked himself upright. "What is it? Do you hear something?"

Before Cinderace could reply, the roar of an explosion rattled the window. Outside, smoke rose from the direction of the park.

They scrambled downstairs, taking the steps two or three at a time. When they reached the outer door, the door wouldn’t budge. Goh jiggled the knob, double-checked the lock, and realized with a sinking feeling that something was jamming it from the outside. Cinderace called him over to the nearest window.

Outside, Team Rocket swarmed through the park. The uniformed agents had come prepared with net cannons and enough Koffing to flood the area with toxic green smoke. At a glance, they seemed to be targeting the strongest Pokemon first. A whole squad had surrounded Golurk, and down by the pond, Goh spotted Inteleon and Ash’s Dragonite struggling to fend off a Rhyperior and Toxicroak. 

The scene reminded him of the time Team Rocket had targeted the resort in Sinnoh… except this time, Goh knew the horrors that Team Rocket was capable of, and he absolutely couldn’t let that happen to the Pokemon under his protection.

He shoved the window open and vaulted through. “Cinderace, help Golurk!” Cinderace took off, but other Pokemon spotted Goh and flocked closer, ready for instruction. “We have to clear this smoke. Dustox, gather any Flying types and kick up a Whirlwind. Farfetch’d, watch their backs!” Greedent, chirping worriedly, fell into step beside him. “Just the Pokemon I need! Dig into your stash for all the Pecha berries you can find. Have Flabébé help you take the berries to any poisoned Pokemon you find, got it?” 

Even as he spoke, Goh could see Team Rocket grabbing Pokemon. The nearest was a man who reached into the grass and yanked up Oddish by her leaves. Goh didn’t think. He dug an elbow in the guy’s stomach, startling him into dropping Oddish. She scurried away, but the man grabbed Goh by the scruff of his shirt. “What’s a pipsqueak like you doing here?” 

A moment later, the man dropped him, too. Goh grunted as the impact jarred his back. Then he saw what had scared the man. Lucario bared his teeth in a smirk. He had acquired some scrapes and scratches since their earlier game, but he still had that bounce to his step that meant he was looking for a fight.

He wouldn’t need to look far. Two more Rocket agents spotted Goh and rushed over. Lucario jabbed a paw toward Goh’s pocket. Goh pulled out Zee’s Pokeball, which thrashed around with the force of the Porygon-Z beating against it from the inside. Having called Goh’s attention to that, Lucario settled into a battle stance as the approaching grunts called forth a Hypno and a Weavile.

Goh hated to battle using a Pokemon he hadn’t bonded with yet, but this was an emergency situation. “You sure you want to battle?” he asked. Zee cried out with an ear-splitting noise that sounded like garbled static. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

He released Zee. When the Pokeball opened, a blast of air pressure swept out from it. Even Lucario had to take a step backward. Zee spun in midair and flung a Shadow Ball at Hypno, bowling the Pokemon over as easy a Butterfree blowing over a leaf. Weavile hesitated in its charge toward Lucario, and Zee hit it with a Tri Attack. Weavile rolled backward with the force of the blast.

Weavile’s trainer gasped. “It’s the shadow Pokemon! Why’s it here?”

Lucario finished off the Weavile with an Aura Sphere. The trainer withdrew Weavile and called out a Weezing. “Quick, use Smog!”

“Stay low!” Goh called. Lucario ducked down, sliding forward with a martial arts move that he had probably picked up from Mr. Mime. Zee plunged through the smoke, heedless of the danger, and Goh heard the Weezing cry out a moment later. 

Covering his face with his hand, Goh blindly followed. He caught up just as Zee clashed with an Arbok. Lucario tried to assist, but when he got close enough, Zee fired a Tri Attack at him. 

“Stop it!” Goh grabbed Zee by its fins. “We don’t have time to fight each other! Sorry, Luc-- aah!”

The Arbok wrapped its tail around Goh’s ankle and yanked. Goh twisted as he fell. Zee released another staticky cry at the impact. 

The Arbok hovered over them, and the patterns on its hood shimmered as it used Glare. Goh felt his muscles tighten into paralysis. Trapped in his arms, Zee stiffened, too. Not good.

All around them, Goh could smell the toxic smoke and hear the cries of his Pokemon as they struggled against the intruders. He couldn’t believe this was happening. The place where he had always felt so safe had turned into a battleground, and it was a battle he was losing.

Then he heard a familiar voice. “We need to stop meeting like this.” Matori rested a hand on Arbok’s hood. “Last time, you ruined my plans. I guess now you’ll have a little more incentive to play along.”

“After what you’ve done?” Goh scowled. “Last time, I saved your life.” 

If Matori had any reaction to that, it didn’t show on her face. Her tone remained completely expressionless. “Do as I say, and maybe I’ll spare yours.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally getting to the main plot! I figure, with Goh's growing collection of Pokemon, it's only a matter of time before Team Rocket tries to steal them. If the anime doesn't address this at all, I'm going to be so salty.
> 
> Ash & Pikachu return next chapter.


	5. Gengar

_Three months earlier…_

By the time the final bell rang, Ash was ready to collapse behind his desk. He had spent half the afternoon on the playground as his students practiced mock battles using the terrain to their advantage. He had been especially proud when Mia's Smoochum iced over the slide and used the momentum to tackle Oliver's Marill, even though Oliver had squeaked out a win. Unfortunately, the pair had spent the rest of the day sniping at each other. As much as Ash appreciated their developing rivalry, it had sapped his energy to keep order in the classroom.

Pikachu sagged on his shoulder. "Chuuu."

"Thanks for your help today, buddy," Ash said. Pikachu had been disappointed when he couldn't battle, too, but Ash had caught him coaching Ella's Pichu to learn Thunder Wave. Ash might not play favorites, but Pikachu had no such constraints.

Someone knocked on the door, and Ash straightened up. "Come in."

Goh waved from the doorway. "Hey, teach."

Ash stuck out his tongue. "Please don't call me 'teach.' That just sounds wrong."

Goh still looked out of place in a classroom-- something about the way he eyed the desks like they would come to life and bite his ankles-- but that didn't stop him from crossing the room to scoop up Ash's bag. "What should I call you then? You're not a professor yet. Instructor? Sensei?"

"Stop. Those are all horrible." Ash grabbed for the bag, but Goh stepped back in time to keep it out of reach.

"Guess I'll have to stick with Boyfriend, then." He pecked Ash on the lips, more cheeky than passionate, but it still turned Ash's insides to marshmallow gooeyness. "Takeout and a movie tonight? You look like you’ve been through the wars today."

"Just tired," Ash said, "but I think I'm really getting through to them. This morning, the kids started campaigning for a field trip to Diglett's Cave. I think they want to catch some Ground types so they can take on Pikachu." Pikachu scoffed at the suggestion. 

"So they're learning type advantages, huh?"

"Guess so." Since Goh had taken his bag, Ash held the door open as they walked out. "I just hope I can do right by them, you know? These kids work so hard to understand their Pokemon, and they have so much potential as trainers." 

"They're lucky to have a teacher like you."

"You're just trying to make me feel better."

"You taught me, didn't you?" Goh knocked his shoulder against Ash's. "Before we met, I had never caught or battled Pokemon, and I definitely didn't understand them. If I'd had a teacher like you at my school, maybe I would've spent more time there."

Ash considered. Goh had battled at Ash's side often enough to prove his skills, and despite his collection, he still loved each one as an individual. If Ash's students could grow into someone like that, then Ash would be proud.

"That does make me feel better," Ash admitted. "Thanks!"

_Present day…_

Ash checked the apartment first.

By the time he had finished his talk with Professor Kukui, Ash already felt lousy. It had been a brickhead move to tackle Goh when he was already hurting. He felt even worse when he noticed that Goh and Cinderace had left without finishing their food.

He had hoped Goh would go home. When he found the place empty, his temper flared again. For all that Goh complained about not spending time together, he didn’t spend much time at their apartment. He had been so supportive when Ash moved back to Vermilion, but the harder Ash worked to settle into a new routine, the more Goh withdrew.

Ash couldn’t wrap his head around why Goh would hide it when he got hurt. They had shared so many bumps and bruises during their travels, Ash had never spared it much thought... until Ash almost lost him. He had glimpsed what life might look like without Goh in it, and it had scared him more than he liked to admit. So he stocked the first aid kit and talked to Ren about updating the lab’s security system. He hovered sometimes when Goh trained with Cinderace. 

Of course Goh had noticed, and he snapped that he could take care of himself. Ash couldn’t seem to find the right words to explain that he didn’t have to. They were supposed to take care of each other.

On his shoulder, Pikachu whined. “It’s okay, buddy. We know exactly where he went, don’t we?”

Then Ash felt something, like a ripple through the air. “Was that Lucario?” For all that Ash could detect a little aura, he didn’t always pick up on it, and it was always just a vague impression that he found difficult to explain. Just now, his hands felt heavy and almost like someone was tugging on them. He had to check it out.

Ash looked out the window in the direction of the lab, and that’s when he saw the smoke. 

By the time Ash reached the lab, he found a line of unmarked cargo trucks pulled right up to the park entrance. Team Rocket agents were trying to load Pokemon in nets and cages. Goh’s Pokemon, he realized; if Team Rocket got away with even one of them, Goh would be heartbroken. Ash charged forward, ready to fight, but a shimmer in the air caught his eye.

Near one of the truck’s engines, Gengar materialized long enough to offer him a peace sign and a gleeful grin. Then it dug back into the machinery, sending bolts and nuts flying. Ash wasn’t sure if it was happier to protect the other Pokemon or to have an excuse to wreak havoc. 

Either way, Ash couldn’t let Gengar act with more strategy than his trainer. His first priority had to be stopping Team Rocket from leaving with any of the resident Pokemon. He snuck around the side of one truck and found Scizor among the captured Pokemon. 

Having faced Jessie and James so often, Ash had finally learned a few of their tricks. He picked the lock on Scizor’s cage. “Do you think you can take it from here?” Scizor flexed his pincers. 

After that, Ash directed Pikachu to use Electroweb on some of the tires. Then they ducked behind the shrubbery to sneak past the approaching agents. He figured that the smoke would attract the attention of the police and the trainers from Vermilion gym. If he slowed Team Rocket down long enough, the other trainers could take care of the rest. 

Inside the park, a host of Koffing had filled the park with smoke, and he could hear the cries of Pokemon putting up a fight. He spotted Sirfetch’d using Brutal Swing to take down some of the Koffing, and nearby, Lucario grappled with a Machamp. In the distance, he could see Cinderace and Golurk fighting side by side.

He desperately wanted to join the fight, too, but first he needed to find Goh. He started toward Cinderace, but then Pikachu pinched his cheek and directed his attention toward the side door leading toward the basement. Ash had forgotten the door existed, since no one ever used it. Now the door had been pried off the hinges.

Two grunts approached him, but Pikachu fended them off with a rage-fueled Thunderbolt. They let Ash pass without further challenge.

Ash paused in the dark stairwell long enough for his eyes to adjust. Someone had dragged muddy shoes on the carpet. Ash followed the trail down toward the fuse box. 

The breakers had been smashed, but that wasn’t the worst news. The muddy trail abruptly ended. Ash knelt down to check the marks, and it looked as if the footprint had twisted in a circular motion. Pikachu screwed up his face in an imitation of a Kadabra. “You think they teleported out of here?” Then why come down to the basement? They could have teleported from anywhere in the park.

But where was Goh? 

Ash placed Pikachu back on his shoulder and ran back up to the park. Gengar met him at the door. “Gen-gengar!” he shouted, waving his stubby arms. In a few short minutes, the Team Rocket agents had dispersed. Ash could hear sirens and his Dragonite’s triumphant roar. Ash should have been relieved. He wasn't.

Then Cinderace approached. He took one look at Ash’s face, spun around, and kicked a hole in the brick wall.


	6. Kadabra

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Longer chapter today. Goh is starting to piece things together, but Ash is left with more questions...

Goh had never seen inside a real Team Rocket base before. He had imagined something dark and sinister. He had not counted on hideously bright fluorescent lights, office-grey soundproofing panels, and floors made of metal grates that felt warm underfoot.

It was not an intimidating place, but Goh was growing more and more nervous as he followed Matori down a long hallway. She had cuffed his hands together in front of him, but she had allowed him to keep a hold on Zee. Even paralyzed stiff in Goh's arms, the Pokemon fixed a death glare on the woman's back.

Matori had not blindfolded him or even taken the phone from his pocket. She didn't seem to care that he was making a mental map of the hallways as they walked. 

When they had arrived, Matori had even force-fed him some Lum berry juice to cure his paralysis... something that had scared him, what with an evil agent forcing him to drink an unknown green liquid. When she explained that she needed him to be able to walk, Goh's suspicions doubled. If she intended on holding him prisoner, then why was she-- in this case, literally-- feeding him the tools to escape?

Of course, none of this mattered as long as her Kadabra hovered behind him. Goh kept glancing around at the Pokemon. Its eyes almost seemed to glow red, but whenever Goh tried to get a closer look, Kadabra growled and used its kinesis to force his face forward again.

There was something wrong with Kadabra. It radiated anger and hatred, in much the way Zee seemed to be doing. If Ash had been here, he would have noticed it right away. Goh didn't have Ash's intuition, but even he felt something.

Matori stopped in front of a metal door and punched in an access code. Goh memorized the numbers, 6-3-9-3, but he was distracted when a door opened on the other side of the hall. Inside, he glimpsed a handful of Rocket agents carrying whips on their belts. They seemed to be gathered around a monitor.

Before he could see anything else, Goh felt a hand on the back of his head. "In here." Matori steered him toward a chair inside a room that would have fit into any generic corporate office. No windows, he noticed, but also no signs of rope, chains, or torture devices. So there was that.

A pair of yellow claws curled around the back of the chair as Kadabra stood behind him, close enough for its whiskers to brush his face. "Do you think you could back off?" Goh asked. "I'm cooperating already."

Matori nodded toward Kadabra, who stepped back with a huff. The Rocket secretary picked up the file box on the table, the same file box that Goh had hidden in the basement of Cerise Laboratory. He still had no idea how she knew it existed.

He had only led her to it after she had agreed to call off her goons and leave his Pokemon alone. He had no way of knowing whether she had held up her end of the bargain, though, because then Kadabra had teleported them here.

Matori flipped through the files. "Baltoy, Castform, Magearna... Mewtwo." She raised an eyebrow. "My, we've been a busy boy."

"If you needed my research, then you didn't have to come after my Pokemon. That information is all public knowledge."

"Is it?" Matori pulled out Mewtwo's folder. Goh recognized the stain from the tea Dr. Fuji had spilled on the folder. Goh had been begging the old man for an interview for years, but he never got anywhere until Ash mentioned that Goh had met Mew. Only then had Dr. Fuji divulged his involvement in the Mewtwo project.

Goh learned more about Mewtwo in one afternoon than ten years worth of Mew research. 

Matori slapped the folder on the table. The noise made Goh jump. "We don't have time for chitchat. I'm running on a strict timeline. Tell me what you have on M3."

Goh recognized the codename, and suddenly he remembered why the number 6393 sounded familiar-- the numerical code for Matori's pet project, Mewthree. 

Three little birdies had told him that the project had been scrapped. Apparently not.

He gritted his teeth. "So you're still trying to create your own super monster?" 

"No," Matori said. "I already did. What do you think that is?"

She pointed to Porygon-Z. Goh tilted his head. Zee might have some powerful attacks, but it sure didn't look like a scary monster now, with its fins flopped across his stomach and head twitching side-to-side. 

Goh tugged Zee closer. "What are you talking about?" 

“Surely you’ve heard the rumors about shadow Pokemon." 

Goh had read about them: abused Pokemon who were able to tap into hidden reserves of strength. A shadow Pokemon could hit harder, work longer, never cried or complained. They also suffered terribly and often did not survive long unless they could be "purified," whatever that meant.

The profiteers who first created shadow Pokemon had been arrested, and the international police had confiscated records of their experiments. Goh hadn't wanted to dig any deeper. Some things were better left forgotten.

“They’re living weapons." Matori nodded toward Zee. "I aimed that one straight at you. I didn't expect you to break it."

"Just like Team Rocket to treat living creatures like tools," Goh said. "Pokemon aren't things to be broken."

"Spare me." Matori folded her arms. "Normal Pokemon have hearts and feelings and all that feel-good nonsense. Shadow Pokemon don't have any of that. Not anymore."

Goh refused to believe that. "Is that what the whips are about? You're trying to beat the emotions out of your Pokemon, force them into some survival state?"

"That would take too long." There were so many things wrong with that statement, but Matori ignored his sputtered protests. "It's easier to show than tell. Kadabra, why don't you show him?" 

Kadabra touched its claws to the back of Goh's neck, and his vision blanked.

"They only took three Pokemon?" Ash asked. "How is that possible?"

"Ash, the flashlight!" Ren complained. Ash fumbled to put the light back on the breaker box. Ren and Magnemite were trying to turn the electricity back on. Until they did that, they couldn't determine if Team Rocket had tampered with any other equipment.

Professor Cerise and Chloe had arrived in time to field the emergency responders. Ren and Chrysa had been close behind. Chloe had placed herself in charge of surveying the Pokemon and checking for injuries. Chrysa supervised the trainers from Vermilion Gym who had volunteered to help with clean-up. Professor Cerise asked Ash for his account of the raid, but as soon as Ash answered his questions, Cerise had sent him to help Ren in the basement.

"Don't go far," the professor had told him. 

Now, the professor and Chloe had moved a dust cloth off an old couch so that they could sit. Chrysa took the flashlight from Ash, who was too distracted to hold it steady anyway.

"We probably have Gengar to thank." Professor Cerise rested his elbows on his knees. "If they'd been able to move those trucks, we would have lost a lot more."

"As it is, we lost Beedrill, Marowak, and... wait a second." Chloe checked tablet on her lap. "When did Goh catch a Porygon-Z?"

"This morning," Ash said. "How did you know?"

"Goh's Pokedex is automatically backed up on our network," the professor explained. "A Porygon-Z? Really?" 

"That's weird," Ren said. "The Porygon line are all manmade Pokemon, right?"

"Why's that weird?" Ash asked.

"Well, the file box that went missing there..." Ren pointed it out. "Those were all notes from Goh's last project. He was researching anthropogenic Pokemon."

"Anthro-what?" Ash frowned. He couldn't remember Goh ever mentioning something like that. He realized that he had not asked about Goh's research in... he didn't know how long. He felt terrible.

Pikachu butted his head against Ash's cheek, calling his attention back to the present.

"Pokemon created by humans," Chrysa explained. "You know how, before humans invented Pokeballs, Voltorb didn't exist? At least not in its current form. Then there are Pokemon like Porygon and Castform who were created by corporations."

Ash nodded. "I get that, but I thought Goh wanted to detect aura on that phone app. What does one have to do with another?"

"Different projects," Chloe said. "I don't think they relate at all. What's weird is why those files were down here. Doesn't he keep most of his papers in his old room upstairs?"

"Good questions all around," the professor said, "but they can all wait. One of our own is missing. What are our next steps?"

Ren and Chrysa exchanged worried looks. Chloe crossed the room and punched Ash hard on the shoulder.

"Ouch! What was that for?!"

"You're supposed to protect him, you idiot!" Ash's anger died the moment he noticed the tears brimming in the corners of her eyes. "You better bring him back."

He huffed even as he put a hand on her head. "Of course I will."

Chloe batted his hand away, and the gesture reminded him so much of Goh that it hurt.

"Okay," Ash said. "I need to call in a favor. Chloe, I'm going to need... let's see... Cinderace, of course, and Gengar, Lucario, Dragonite... maybe Inteleon, too. Can you make sure they're in full health and ready to go in fifteen minutes?" She offered him a mock salute and left to do that.

"How dangerous is this going to be?" Professor Cerise asked. 

"Nothing I can't handle," Ash lied. Then he ducked outside to make a video call. He only knew two people who could give him any answers about Team Rocket.

Jessie answered the call. "What do you want, twerp?"

Ash sighed. It had been a while since he had heard that unfortunate nickname. "I need information. Team Rocket broke into Cerise Lab, and Goh's missing."

Ash had helped Jessie and James retire from Team Rocket a few years ago. He didn't know where they lived now, only that they had taken Meowth and disappeared from public view. They had called him once or twice since then to give him information on Team Rocket. Whatever had caused them to retire had severed their loyalty to the organization.

"Brat boy number two?" The camera angle adjusted as a green-eyed toddler climbed on Jessie's lap and happily waved. "What did he stumble into this time?"

"Don't know," Ash admitted. He waved back at the little kid. "Do you have any idea where they might have taken him?"

Jessie pondered that. "We tried to break into the lab before, but taking on that many Pokemon at once isn't easy. They would've needed a large force. My guess is that four-eyed freak is involved."

"Can't you just use names?" 

Jessie waved away the suggestion. "My guess is that they took him back to headquarters-- not to the boss's hideout, mind you, but to the underground bunker in Celadon. You know where it is, right?" Ash did. "We don't know any of the passwords anymore, of course. The place is rigged with warp panels, so plan accordingly."

" _Thank you._ " Ash still had a hard time believing that Jessie and James had turned their lives around and that they were almost friends. On his shoulder, Pikachu puffed his cheeks out in an obvious pout. Well, _almost._

Jessie planted a kiss on the child's forehead. "No, thank _you._ You got us out of the game. Best blast-off ever."

Ash hung up. At least now he had a direction. "Celadon, here we come."

Goh felt like he had been plunged underwater. Cold seeped into his body as he was wrapped in something thick and cloying. When he opened his eyes, everything looked dark and distorted, like an old movie playing from warped film.

Even so, he recognized his apartment: the mess of shoes by the door, the jar of plane tickets on the bookshelf, and the Jigglypuff doll that started as an inside joke and now moved around the apartment every few days.

The vision blurred, and Goh scrubbed at his eyes. Metal cuffs still held his hands together, and when he tried to step forward, his feet stuck to the floor. “What..”

Then he heard Ash say, “You seemed to have fun today.”

On the couch, Ash had collapsed with his head cushioned on Goh’s leg. Goh did a double-take at the vision of himself. Then he recognized the Pewter Museum t-shirt that his other self was wearing. “Wait, I remember this.” Pikachu laid upside-down on Goh’s lap. Goh massaged his red cheeks using the technique that Brock had shown him.

When Ash mentioned that Gym Leader Brock was an old friend, Goh had been intimidated. Then Brock shared a bunch of embarrassing stories about Ash and happily supplied Goh with tips to care for his many Pokemon. Ash had called them both nerds, but the day had left Ash looking pleased as a Purrloin in the cream. Pikachu, too, judging from the way he melted under the massage.

Then Cinderace plunked down in front of the couch. He crossed his arms in a pout even as he leaned back against Goh’s legs. Goh watched as Ash and his other self exchanged amused looks. Ash reached for Pikachu, and Goh switched to massaging Cinderace’s ears instead. “Don’t be a baby,” the other Goh said. “You’re my favorite.”

“He is?” Ash shifted upright. “No fair. I thought I was the favorite.” Cinderace squawked indignantly, and even Pikachu huffed.

“Well, uh…” Goh backpedaled. “He’s my… first? Uh…”

“I thought I was that, too,” Ash said smugly. Goh grabbed a pillow and shoved it over Ash’s face.

Still standing across the room, Goh felt his cheeks warm as he watched the memory play out. Cinderace and Ash somehow ended up in a wrestling match on top of Goh, but before things got out of hand, Pikachu ended things by shocking them all. Goh winced in sympathy.

And he finally noticed the claws still pressed against the back of his neck. He twisted around to see Kadabra.

Memories of the past twenty-four hours crashed down on him, and Goh looked down at his hands. Zee was missing. If this was all an illusion, was that okay or not? Goh didn’t have much time to think about that before the scene shifted.

Goh was standing in an alleyway, and Ash was telling him, “Look, I don’t need you as a friend.”

Goh was sitting in a Pokemon Center while Ash gave him the silent treatment after Goh had stopped him from charging through a wall of flames to save Pikachu.

Goh was racing the length of a train, trying to figure out how to get back to Raboot after he made the biggest mistake of his life.

He was sitting alone in his childhood bedroom, waiting for his parents to come home.

He was back in the apartment, waiting while Ash finished combing through his textbooks.

He was alone and crying in the woods. He was surrounded by jeering classmates. He was watching Ash walk away with all of his other, more amazing friends…

Goh snapped out of it. He lurched forward, almost knocking Zee off his lap as he struggled to catch his breath. Kadabra took a few steps backward. 

His heart hurt. Literally. He felt like he had taken a Hyper Beam to the chest.

Zee pressed his fins against his stomach and made a warbling sound. Goh glanced down at the little Pokemon. For the first time, he glimpsed a purple cloud billowing around Zee, just like the darkness from the illusion. When he squinted for a better look, the shadows disappeared.

“How do you feel?” Matori asked. 

He glared back at her. “Peachy. What the hell was that?”

“A glimpse into the process of creating a shadow Pokemon. Easier to show than tell.” Matori tilted her head. “The inventors described the process as closing their hearts. Do you think that’s accurate?”

Still rattled, Goh took a deep breath. He hugged Zee closer still. If that was just a glimpse, he couldn’t imagine what this poor Pokemon had been through. “More like ripping it to shreds,” he finally admitted. 

Now he understood why Zee and the Kadabra burned with so much anger and fear. Their bonds had been broken. They had been made to feel alone and desperate. No wonder they had closed their hearts.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. A red-haired agent ducked her head in. “Commander? Everything is ready.”

“Thank you.” Matori dismissed her. Then she lowered her voice. “I told you that I wanted to create the ultimate weapon for Team Rocket. Our organization will establish world order someday. I couldn’t create a new Pokemon, so I… recycled.”

Goh shivered. “That’s evil, even for you.”

“I thought it was necessary,” Matori said, voice still soft, “but it was a step too far.”

Goh perked up, but before he could ask what she meant, the door opened again. A man in a dark, tailored suit stepped inside. A Persian prowled by his feet. “Matori, a word?”


	7. Beedrill

The man in the suit spared Goh a cursory glance, and that's all it took to turn his spine to ice. Even Zee and Kadabra froze in place. Of course they recognized the most notorious crime boss in Kanto.

"Sir." Matori snapped to attention. "I just received word that the operation is ready to launch."

"Good. I expect perfect execution." Giovanni adjusted the cuff of his sleeve. "I've assembled the strike team downstairs. Transport is on standby. I want the shadow Pokemon distributed and the teams on route by end of day."

“Mrar?” Persian strolled over to Goh and sank claws into his knee. Goh shrank back in his seat as the big cat leaned over him to sniff at Zee. Then Persian snorted, as if clearing his nose of an unpleasant odor. 

The noise caught Giovanni’s attention. “Is that Test Subject Two? When did it evolve?”

Goh tried not to squirm as Giovanni stared at Zee. He wished that he could become invisible like a Sobble. It was bad enough that Matori recognized him. If Giovanni realized who he was, Goh was never sleeping again.

"Today," Matori said. "It seems that the transfer had unexpected results.

"Ah, you're the collector." Giovanni stepped closer. "Let it comfort you that your Pokemon will serve a noble purpose by extending Team Rocket's reach across the region."

"No, they won't." Goh's temper overcame his fear, and he met Giovanni's eyes. Goh had no intention of letting anyone who messed with this "shadow" stuff mess with a single one of his Pokemon.

"I see." Giovanni turned to Matori. "I don't want any loose ends. You'll take care of this?"

"Of course."

"Very well." Giovanni's easy dismissal only made Goh more anxious. His heart jack-hammered in his chest as Giovanni strode out with Persian at his heels. Matori crossed the room to close the door behind him.

Goh swallowed. "So... you don't intend on letting me leave, do you?"

"He certainly doesn't." Matori adjusted her glasses. "I told you that I would spare your life if you cooperated. Trust me, you won't receive another offer like that in here."

That didn’t reassure him, but he asked again, "Just what is it that you want me to do?"

Matori folded her arms. "There's only one way to cure the shadow Pokemon. Their hearts must be reopened. New bonds must be formed. That's where you come in."

"Me?" Goh grimaced. He adored his Pokemon, but it wasn't like he had any special talent for gaining their trust and bringing out their potential. Not like Ash could. Goh still cringed whenever he remembered all the mistakes he had made while raising Scorbunny and Sobble. 

Matori's tone sharpened. "Don't be modest. A dedicated trainer can purify a shadow aura through bonding activities, e.g. gifts, massage, walking together, even giving a nickname. The process works, but it typically takes weeks or months. I sent Porygon-Z to you this morning, and look how attached it is already."

“You paralyzed it,” Goh pointed out. Admittedly, Goh did feel a connection with the Pokemon still resting against his stomach, but he expected that it was more a fluke than anything he had done.

"Kadabra?" Matori asked. Kadabra produced a Paralysis Heal and dropped it into Goh's hands. He had to fumble around his restraints, but he hurried to spray the medicine before Matori changed her mind. Zee stretched out and readjusted to rest its fins on Goh's arms.

"See? I need you to do that for the rest of the shadow Pokemon."

Goh didn't like the sound of that. "What happens if I don't?"

“You will,” she said, “if you don’t want to see Team Rocket attack every cultural site in the region. We’re talking gyms, research facilities, top corporations, shopping centers… Can you imagine?”

He could. The attack on Cerise Park had been bad enough. If Team Rocket really had the manpower to target all those sites at once, the effect would be devastating. So many people and Pokemon would be hurt. Worse, all that destruction and terror would only spur Team Rocket toward greater violence. 

“You told me once that your boss wants world order,” Goh said, “but this is just going to cause chaos.”

“I know.” She folded her arms. “Listen. I know I’m not giving you much time here, but if we don't hurry, we'll lose our chance. Can you trust me?"

"No." Even so, Goh got to his feet. He suspected that Matori had her own reasons for undermining this operation. For now, all he knew was that his best chances of reuniting with his Pokemon-- and with Ash-- would be to play along. "Lead the way."

Inteleon yanked Ash back by the collar of his shirt, and he stumbled backward through the doorway. Both Cinderace and Pikachu shushed him. Their ears twitched in unison as a pair of Rocket grunts passed the door. Ash waited until the sound of footsteps faded before he sagged against the nearest wall. "How many of them are there?" he grumbled. Didn't Team Rocket take the weekends off?

Ash was lucky that Cinderace and Inteleon had come along. Between Cinderace's ears and Inteleon's penchant for staying out of sight, they had saved his bacon half a dozen times since they broke into the Rocket bunker. He suspected that their flawless teamwork resulted from years of keeping Goh safe while he charged after whatever Pokemon he was trying to catch in the moment.

His own Pokemon had their roles, too. A stubby purple arm reached through the wall beside Ash and grabbed his shoulder. “Find anything, Gengar?”

Using his ghostly powers, Gengar pulled Ash through the wall. Ash shivered, and Pikachu sneezed. Phasing through solid objects would have been awesome, if it didn’t leave them half-frozen. Gengar retrieved Cinderace and Inteleon as Ash got his bearings.

The blue glow of a computer screen was the only source of light. Desks had been pressed against the far wall to make room for the machine in the center of the room. Pikachu climbed up the mess of gears and wires to sit on the metal surface surrounded by screens. “Pika?”

Ash picked Pikachu up. “Better not touch that. This room is creepy.”

Lucario popped out of one of Ash’s Pokeballs on his own. He took up a defensive stance between Ash and the shelves against the wall. In the dark room, Ash hadn’t noticed them right away, but now that he had, he could see the shadows swirling around the lines of black and red Pokeballs. Ash recognized the Rocket invention that allowed them to steal other trainers’ Pokemon.

Lucario took a step toward the shelf and then stumbled back. Ash felt it, too-- a heavy wave of rage and suffering radiating from all those Pokemon. 

Gengar hovered closer to the shelf. “Gen-gengar.” He pointed out one of the Pokeballs. Lucario followed his lead and pressed the button.

“Wait,” Ash said-- too late. Beedrill emerged with a red flash. “Oh! It’s Goh’s Beedrill! Good job, guys!”

Beedrill glanced back and forth between Gengar and Lucario. Then it dove forward, narrowly missing Lucario with a Twineedle attack. 

“Calm down!” Ash had to dodge one of Beedrill’s spears. “Hey, don’t you remember us?”

Cinderace, Inteleon, and Lucario circled around Beedrill. Cinderace held up his paws as he crept closer. Beedrill defensively crossed his stingers. 

“Easy,” Ash said. “It’s okay. We all remember you. Like that time we raced across the Desert Resort in Unova? Or how you helped us look for Cubone’s lost bone, or when you helped the Cascoon evolve?” 

Lucario caught on and started talking, too. Ash grinned at him. “Yeah, Beedrill, do you remember back when this guy was just a baby Riolu? You helped him train in the park.”

Beedrill stared at Lucario and slowly tilted his head. Cinderace and Inteleon exchanged looks. They dashed forward, and before Ash could protest, they had squished Beedrill in a hug between them. 

Ash watched as that dark shadow flickered around Beedrill and, as Lucario and Gengar joined the group hug, disappeared completely. Ash pulled out a spare Pokeball. He wasn’t sure if it would work, since he didn’t have Beedrill’s Pokeball. But he held it up for Beedrill to examine. “Hey. You want to come home with us?”

Beedrill hesitated. “Bee?”

“Goh’s here somewhere. We’ll bring him back, too, I promise.” With that, Beedrill entered the Pokeball without a fuss. Ash grinned. “One down, two to go.”

Lucario and Gengar wasted no time in checking the rest of the shelves, but they couldn’t find Marowak. Cinderace interrupted the search by pointing toward the door. Ash could hear footsteps approaching, and then the door knob jiggled as someone unlocked it from the outside. Ash wasn’t sure everyone could hide behind that machine, and it would take Gengar too long to phase them all through the wall.

Anyway, he couldn’t just leave all these hurt Pokemon on those shelves at the mercy of Team Rocket. At the very least, he could give them a fighting chance.

Goh followed Matori through the halls. A dozen or so Team Rocket members passed by them with curious glances. Goh couldn’t help feeling vulnerable with his hands still bound, but he did his best to duck his head and avoid meeting anyone’s eyes. He really didn’t need anyone else remembering his face.

“They’re not looking at you. They’re looking at Porygon-Z.” Matori unlocked a door.

“Test Subject Two,” Goh said. “That’s what he called Zee. That means…”

“I started with three test subjects, including Porygon-Z and Kadabra.” Matori led Goh into a utility room. Generators lined one wall, and a large ceiling vent blasted cold air over the machinery. A lone laptop sat in an empty corner. “Never mind that now. No one will look in here for a while. From here, you can access the database and erase the data on shadow Pokemon. Can you do that?”

“I think so.” Goh frowned. “How does that help the shadow Pokemon already here?”

Just then, an alarm wailed. Before Goh registered what was happening, Matori had grabbed him by the shoulder and slammed him back against the wall. “What did you do?”

“Me? I’ve been with you the whole time.” His back spasmed after the rough treatment, so it took Goh a few seconds to push back. “What’s going on?”

Matori’s phone rang, and she released Goh to answer it. “Someone released all the Pokemon in Storage Room A? I’m on my way.” 

She grabbed Goh’s cuffs and unlocked them. Zee shifted to drape over Goh’s shoulder as he rubbed at his wrists.

“Kadabra, keep them on task. I’m going to buy us some time. Meet me at the elevators when you can.” With that, Matori left, locking the door behind her.

Goh grabbed his phone out of his pocket the moment he was alone. Rotom buzzed happily at the sight of his trainer unharmed. Goh found a dozen missed texts and calls, but he had no signal to return any of them. Next he pulled up the Aura Reader. He could see a blip on the radar where Kadabra hovered nearby, but Zee’s aura had shrunk to a tiny dot. 

More troubling, other dots popped up all over the screen, and they were all moving. “Those Pokemon who were released-- they’re all shadow Pokemon?” he asked. Kadabra nodded.

Goh crossed his arms as he considered. He didn’t have the time to befriend these Pokemon one by one. How could he build a bond with so many Pokemon all at once?

At any rate, he needed to stop Team Rocket from making any more of them. He left his phone face-up beside him so that he could keep an eye on the Aura Reader. Goh opened the laptop and, using all the programming knowledge that he had picked up from his mother, hacked into the database. The files had been neatly labeled, so he had no problem finding what he needed. He made a copy for himself and sent it to his phone. 

He ran into a problem accessing the backup database. “Come on,” he muttered. Zee slipped off his shoulder and slid into the laptop screen, like a Seel slipping into water. The files vanished, and Zee popped its head back out of the screen. 

“You did that?” Goh asked. Zee clapped its fins together. “Great job. Hey, do you think you can find the Pokemon storage system?” Zee disappeared once more.

“Kadabra?” His guard drifted closer with a curious look. 

“Pokemon can be transmitted as computer data when they’re in Pokeballs, right? So if Team Rocket is storing any of my Pokemon, then we can retrieve them. For that matter, if we can catch any of the shadow Pokemon in Pokeballs, we can transfer them to safety.” Kadabra poked at the laptop screen with a claw, and Zee popped out with a staticky squeal.

Goh checked the Aura Reader and noticed something approaching. The ripple appeared lighter than the others, and it was moving fast. Goh closed the laptop, grabbed Zee and Kadabra, and hid behind one of the generators. Kadabra gave him a funny look, but Goh held a finger to his lips with what he hoped was a stern expression.

He didn’t hear the door open, but a moment later, he could hear footsteps just a few feet away. “You sure, Lucario? Looks pretty empty...”

Goh peeked out. Ash nudged the laptop with his foot as he and Lucario scanned the room. Behind them, Gengar unlocked the door to let Cinderace and Inteleon in. 

Something tight loosened in Goh’s chest, and he leaped to his feet. He couldn’t believe they were all here. “Ash!”

Ash’s face lit up, but Goh misjudged the distance and crashed into him, bumping their heads together. If Ash hadn’t been standing next to the wall, they both would have hit the floor. As it was, Goh wrapped his arms around Ash’s shoulders, and Ash’s return hug lifted him off his feet. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” Ash murmured.

“I’m so glad you’re here.” Goh leaned back so that he could cup a hand around Ash’s face. With Ash’s hands still resting on his hips, Goh felt completely safe-- even underground, surrounded by enemies, with the alarm still blaring. None of that mattered. It didn’t matter that they had fought earlier. With Ash on his side, Goh knew they could do anything. They had the record to prove it.

Then Ash leaned in to kiss him-- and Goh jerked away. 

His heart pounded. His hand flew up, palm raised defensively in front of him.

Ash stared at him, and Goh stared back.

Uh oh.


	8. Rhyperior

When Goh jerked away from his kiss, Ash's immediate reaction was to feel hurt. Rejected. Maybe some small part of him harbored a fantasy of being the knight in shining armor, with Goh starring as the handsome prince to be rescued. He should have known better.

But as he studied the face in front of him-- blue eyes wide with panic, brow furrowed with the same frustration that Ash felt-- it was obvious that Goh was just as surprised. That reassured him a little.

So Ash released him with a sigh. “Come on. Let’s get you home.”

“Wait.” Goh touched Ash’s arm. “Let’s talk about this.”

“No time,” Ash said, but then he turned his hand to lace their fingers together. “It’s okay. We can figure it out later. First, we need to get out of here.”

Goh looked like he might argue, but as Ash stepped back, Cinderace squished Goh into a hug. Inteleon, Gengar, and Lucario crowded closer for their share of cuddles and fist bumps. “Hey guys,” Goh said. “You take care of Ash for me?”

“They did their best. Oh, and here.” Ash passed over Beedrill. Goh gave the black and red Pokeball a dubious look, but when he recognized his Pokemon, he released Beedrill and checked him over for injuries.

Ash refused to pout-- no matter what was going on between them, he wasn't going to begrudge his boyfriend some cuddles with his Pokemon-- but Pikachu poked at his cheek with a knowing smirk. "Chuuu."

Ash glanced away, and his gaze landed on Goh's Porygon-Z and a strange Kadabra, still hovering behind the generator where Goh had been hiding. The shadows flickering around Zee had all but disappeared. In contrast, the shadows surrounding Kadabra billowed as thick and menacing as a stormcloud. Ash had never seen an aura that clearly before.

Its darkness scared him enough that he moved on instinct, reaching for Goh's wrist and tugging him away from the Kadabra. "Come on, we gotta go," Ash said.

Goh followed him for two steps before stopping. Ash turned, ready to snap at him to hurry up. Then he noticed the way Goh was pulling at his feet, as if they had frozen to the floor.

Kadabra hissed, and Ash's temper flared as he recognized Kadabra's kinesis at work. "Gengar?" The ghost squared off, ready to rumble with the psychic. 

"Stop it, Ash." Goh twisted at the waist to get a look at Kadabra. "He's a victim, too. Team Rocket experimented on him. I bet you don't want me to leave without helping the shadow Pokemon, right?"

Kadabra nodded. The psychic released his kinetic hold on Goh's legs. Goh stumbled, only staying upright because Cinderace caught him by the elbows. Zee darted to his side, twittering nervously.

“Shadow Pokemon?” Ash asked. Gengar floated back to his side but kept a hairy eye on Kadabra. 

Goh briefly explained what he had learned about shadow Pokemon, Team Rocket’s plans, and Matori’s sabotage of her own operation. Goh folded his arms around Zee as he talked; behind him, Cinderace folded his arms around Goh’s shoulders. “She seems to think that we can help these shadow Pokemon by opening their hearts again. I don’t think I can, at least not in the time we have.”

Ash hummed noncommittally. This shadow stuff didn’t make much sense to him, but he tended to believe that Goh could do anything he set his mind to. He just didn’t see why Goh felt responsible for the mess Matori had made. 

Ash was still fighting down the urge to throw Goh over his shoulder and make a run for it. The longer they lingered, the worse Ash felt about their chances of escape-- especially since they still had to find Marowak. 

Pikachu whined anxiously, ears twitching toward the ceiling. “Pika pika!”

“Right.” As focused as he was on Goh, he had almost tuned out the alarm blaring in the background. “Whatever you’re going to do, we need to move.”

Goh glanced around the room at the Pokemon gathered around them. Ash had taught him to do that-- when in a bind, to consider his Pokemon’s abilities and use them to his advantage. Then his gaze fixed on Ash. “I wonder… it’s kind of a crazy idea…”

Ash grinned. “That’s the best kind.”

Goh sat cross-legged on the floor. Ash mimicked his posture, close enough that their knees knocked together. He kept figeting and glancing up at Lucario and Kadabra, towering on either side of them. All the other Pokemon, except Pikachu, had returned to their Pokeballs. 

Pikachu had volunteered to watch over Ash and Goh during this process. If anything went wrong, Goh had given him permission to shock them both. To judge from Pikachu's smug look, that might have been a bad decision.

"Are you sure about this?" Ash asked.

"I'm running on a hunch," Goh admitted. He reached over to touch Ash's knee. "I wouldn't trust anyone else with this."

Ash actually blushed. "Just let me know what to do."

"Okay." Goh checked on Lucario and Kadabra. The two Pokemon nodded back. "Three, two..."

One moment, Goh was sitting on the floor of Team Rocket's bunker. The next, he was sitting on the bed in his and Ash's apartment. Unlike the first time Kadabra had hypnotized him, the apartment looked almost normal, if a little dark. It was cold, too; Goh wrapped his arms around himself with a shiver.

Then a second pair of arms wrapped around him. "Whoa. This is crazy," Ash said. "Feels just like home."

"In the middle of winter." Goh leaned back, enjoying the warmth of Ash's hug.

Ash stared all around them, marveling as if they were somewhere far more exciting than their own bedroom. "So of all the places Kadabra could send us, why here?" Ash asked.

"We're not really here. This is all in our heads. Hearts. Something like that." Goh huffed, annoyed at his own half-baked explanation. "It's somewhere that I feel close to you."

"Oh yeah?" Ash sounded smug, but when he continued, his voice softened. "Me, too."

Goh fiddled with Ash's fingers. He had already explained what he wanted to try to Kadabra and Lucario, but he needed Ash to understand. "You know... when we started dating, I thought, this was it for me. I found my person. But lately, I've been feeling so disconnected from you. It's... scary."

Ash rested his forehead against the back of Goh's neck. "You're my person, too."

"Good." Goh chewed on his lip. He knew that he needed to do this for the sake of all those shadow Pokemon, but here, now, he found that his motivations were far more selfish. All he cared about was staying in Ash's arms. "Do you think you can help me fix this? Our bond, I mean."

"Our bond?" Ash caught Goh's hands between his, stopping his fiddling. "Is it broken?"

Goh pressed their intertwined hands against his chest. His heart still ached from whatever Kadabra had done to him earlier, but... "No, not broken. Hurt, I think."

Ash considered that. Finally he asked, "Can I try something?" Goh nodded, and Ash shuffled backward. Goh protested-- it was still so cold-- but then Ash tugged up the back of his shirt.

"I didn't mean that kind of hurt." He blushed, facing forward, as Ash examined the bruises on his back.

Ash sucked in a breath. "These look painful," he said. "Wish you would've told me." Then he pressed the gentlest kiss against the bruise, and Goh melted.

"I hate worrying you," Goh admitted. "I know you won't admit it, but I know you've been hurt worse than this. You never complain."

Ash chuckled. "No, but that was before I had a cute boyfriend to kiss it better. Just wait until the next time I get knocked around, and you'll see how much of a crybaby I really am."

"Liar." Goh tilted his head back to grin at him, but as he leaned back, the scene shifted.

Instead of sitting on their bed, they were standing in an alleyway. Ash spun in a circle. "Where is this?"

Goh recognized it right away. "Where we had our first fight. Remember, with the Ivysaur?" 

"Oh yeah." Ash's eyes lit up, the way they always did when he got a crazy idea. "Hey, Goh. We're supposed to be fixing our bond, right? So this is like... another wound."

"I guess so." Goh rubbed at his chest, still preoccupied with the aching.

Then Ash pressed him back against the wall. The next kiss wasn't gentle at all, but it did leave Goh warm right down to his toes.

"What are you doing?" he asked. "You can't kiss _this_ better."

"Why not?" Ash smirked as the scene shifted again. "It's working, isn't it?"

Goh studied their new surroundings: rows of books and a square of wooden tables. "Is this the school library?"

"Oops. I think this is one of mine." Ash scratched the back of his head. "Sometimes when you stay late at the lab, I come in here to study. It's better than staying in the apartment all by myself...."

"Really?" Goh hopped up to sit on one of the tables. "I only stay late in the lab because I don’t want to disturb you while you’re studying."

Ash crossed his arms. "You could keep me company, you know."

"I wouldn't be a distraction?" Goh tilted his head. He had been trying to give Ash the space he needed to chase after his goals, but if Ash felt lonely, too...

Ash crossed the room to hold Goh's face in his hands. "You've always cheered me on before, haven't you?"

Goh felt something tight in his chest start to loosen. "I really missed you, you know?"

"Me, too." Ash leaned close enough for their foreheads to touch. "Is this working?"

Goh considered. "I think so. There's still one more thing I need to tell you..."

He didn't get the chance. Before he could say another word, a jolt of electricity struck them both.

"Pikachu?" Ash blindly grabbed for the electric mouse on his lap. It took him a second to shake off Kadabra's visions. Lucario rested a paw on his shoulder. At first Ash thought it was a protective gesture, but then Lucario wobbled. 

"Whoa." Ash leaped up to steady him. While he and Goh had been under hypnosis, Lucario had been monitoring the changes to their aura and projecting those changes out to all the shadow Pokemon. Ash knew enough about aura to realize what a monumental task he had asked of Lucario. He pulled out Lucario's Pokeball. "You did great! Get some rest now."

Now the question was, had the plan worked? He turned to Kadabra. The psychic Pokemon leaned against the wall, apparently as exhausted as Lucario. A wisp of shadow still clung to his aura, but it was nothing like the storm cloud that had swirled around him before.

Goh, still seated on the floor, grabbed his phone. "The shadow Pokemon... they're not registering on the Aura Reader anymore. No, there's still one left..."

"Pika!" Pikachu pinched Ash's cheek and frantically waved a paw, directing his attention to the floor, too.

"Huh? What is it?" Ash tapped his foot against the metal grating. He heard it before he felt it-- the screech of metal peeling apart, followed by a rumbling like an earthquake.

Goh scrambled upright just as the floor began to rip apart, giving way to a huge drill. A Rhyperior climbed out of the hole and blocked their exit with its massive body.

Ash glanced around the small room. Even if Dragonite or Lucario hadn't exhausted themselves, they wouldn't have room to battle. He reached for Gengar’s Pokeball. “Come on, buddy, I’m counting on you!” 

Goh called on Zee, and Ash raised an eyebrow. He had expected Goh to use Inteleon with his type advantage. Before he could question the choice, Rhyperior launched a Stone Edge attack at them. "Zee, counter with Shadow Ball!"

"Gengar, help out!"

Between both Pokemon's Shadow Balls, they successfully blocked the attack. Rock dust rained over the room. Behind Rhyperior, a suited man emerged from the hole in the floor and offered a slow clap.

"I applaud you for making it this far," Giovanni said, "but as you can see, I can't let you go any further. You've made quite the mess of my plans."

Ash shivered. On his shoulder, Pikachu shrunk back. They had faced Giovanni in battle only once, and back then, Giovanni had defeated him without breaking a sweat. Jessie and James had warned him that, strong as he and Pikachu were, he never wanted to face their boss when he got serious.

Giovanni cracked his knuckles. "You're going to regret that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter kicked my butt. Serves me right for trying to include all the things in one story. 
> 
> Next chapter highlights: Zee shows off a special skill, Matori's third test subject is revealed, and Goh finally reunites with Marowak (because at this point, the poor guy still thinks Team Rocket has most of his Pokemon). Should be posted by Friday morning.


	9. Marowak

Goh had seen enough master-class battles over the years, he had developed a pretty accurate gauge to measure a trainer’s strength. He could tell at a glance that Giovanni and his Rhyperior outclassed him. Maybe outclassed Ash, too. It was in the way their stances mirrored each other: feet planted, shoulders squared, with an air of unshakable confidence. 

Gone was his mild-mannered mask from earlier. This was a master trainer whose steps made the earth quake. 

Even Ash looked uncharacteristically worried. He murmured, “You get a chance to run, you take it.”

Goh nodded once. He understood. This wasn’t a typical trainer battle. Goh had no doubt that Giovanni would bury them if he could. Goh couldn’t hope to win this battle. He glanced around the room, looking for any possible escape. Kadabra had vanished. Rhyperior blocked the door.

Goh’s eye caught on the laptop still sitting in the far corner.

“Rhyperior, Hammer Arm,” Giovanni ordered. The Pokemon’s huge fists glowed red as he charged forward.

“Quick, use Conversion!” Zee disappeared just as Rhyperior’s fist would have slammed into it. Instead, Rhyperior spun with his own momentum. Goh dropped, butt hitting the floor, as Rhyperior punched the wall where his head had been a moment before. The wall fractured under the force.

Holy Tauros, Giovanni really intended to kill them. 

Before Rhyperior could yank his arm out of the wall, something threw Goh sideways. He landed in a sprawl beside Ash. “Nice, Gengar! Now use Ice Punch!”

Goh rolled upright, shaking off the cold from Gengar’s psychokinesis in time to see Gengar’s icy fist connect with Rhyperior’s jaw. From Ash’s shoulder, Pikachu cheered.

He was too close. Rhyperior grabbed Gengar’s fist with his own. “Stone Edge,” Giovanni ordered. 

“Shadow Ball!” Goh shouted. Zee aimed its attack at Rhyperior’s hand, loosening its grasp enough for Gengar to escape the blast. 

Ash nudged his shoulder. “You have an idea.” 

Goh tilted his head toward the laptop, now only a few feet away. “Cover us?”

Ash nodded. “Gengar, distract him with Night Shade!”

“Gen-GAR!” The ghost fired a crimson beam from his eyes. Instead of hitting Rhyperior, the beam struck the ceiling. A chunk of the ceiling cracked down on Rhyperior’s head. Gengar faded out of sight, only to reappear on Rhyperior’s other side. He fired another Night Shade, knocking the drill Pokemon backward.

Goh used the time to scramble toward the laptop and tilt the screen so that it faced Ash. “Zee! You only get one shot.”

“Just what are you doing?” Giovanni stepped closer to Goh.

Zee flew toward Gengar. “Pory-pory-pory…”

“Gen!” Gengar dove toward Ash, taking his trainer by surprise when he snatched him up by the waist. Pikachu squawked at the unexpected move. Zee had its fin on Gengar’s back as they leaped toward the laptop. With a white flash of light, they disappeared into the screen. 

“Yes!” Goh shouted.

Then Giovanni’s hand clamped on his shoulder. “So you think you’ve won?” Behind him, Rhyperior lumpered closer with an ill-tempered glare.

“Let him go.”

Goh peered around Giovanni toward the door, where Matori stood with her hands on her hips. Kadabra stood behind her, and so did another Pokemon. Goh had never seen an Alolan Meowth before, but he didn’t think their eyes were supposed to glow red. 

Meowth slowly approached on all fours, back arched, claws extended. He hissed at Rhyperior. Rhyperior took a step back. 

Goh gulped. The air suddenly felt heavier, hard to breathe. Giovanni’s grip threatened to crush his shoulder. 

“What is the meaning of this, Matori?”

As ever, Matori’s face remained expressionless. Not a hair out of place. “You told me that you wanted to bring about a new world order, but this isn’t the way to do it. We call them Pocket Monsters… but we’re the ones who turned them into abominations.”

Meowth growled as he crept closer. Normally, Goh would have scoffed at the idea of a tiny Meowth taking on a beast like Rhyperior, but… this wasn’t just a Meowth. Goh had only ever felt power like this from legendary Pokemon, and even then, those legendaries had never been this _angry._

His mind flashed to that forest clearing in Pallet Town, when he had stood between Matori and the Draco Meteor attack. _That_ was the kind of power radiating from this tiny cat. No wonder Matori wanted to put an end to this operation. 

Giovanni scoffed. “My own secretary turning against me… rats running around my headquarters… hmph. No matter. I’ve cleaned house before. Team Rocket will only grow stronger from this.”

“No, it won’t.” Matori raised a hand. “Meowth, use Frustration!”

Meowth launched at Rhyperior, raking claws across the giant’s hide. The rocky plates around Rhyperior’s middle cracked under Meowth’s onslaught. Even Giovanni stiffened with surprise. 

“Impressive. It seems I’ll have to take you seriously.” Giovanni recalled Rhyperior. He shoved Goh away as he tossed his next Pokeball, revealing Persian. 

Goh stepped back until he was standing next to the laptop. He locked eyes with Matori. She nodded, reached a hand backward toward Kadabra.

Then a hand reached out of the laptop and yanked Goh off his feet.

“How did you know that was going to work?” Ash asked. Beside him, Goh gagged over a trash can. Ash had done a lot of things in his life, including traveling through time and Ultra Space, but he had never traveled through a computer network before. He still felt like electricity was buzzing under his skin. He’d seen so many thousands of images flash before his eyes. The experience left him pumped.

Goh, on the other hand, looked seasick. “Well, I am a researcher. Porygon-Z was developed to travel to other dimensions. Can’t do that, really, but traveling through virtual space is cool enough, right?”

“Super cool!” Ash patted Zee’s head, and the virtual Pokemon wriggled happily at the praise.

Pikachu pinched Ash’s cheek and pointed up, reminding him that they still needed to escape.

They could still hear the rumble of battle somewhere nearby. Ash was pretty sure they hadn’t gone far, judging from the eerie generic office decor. 

Goh wiped the back of his hand across his mouth and, accepting help from Gengar, got to his feet. “Okay. Now… how do we find everyone else?”

Ash blinked. “Everyone…?”

“My Pokemon? You found these three, but what about the rest?” Gengar chuckled beside him, and Goh scowled. “What? Why are you laughing?”

The pieces clicked together, and Ash chuckled, too. “Well, you should probably be thanking him. He messed with Team Rocket’s trucks. They only got away with Beedrill and Marowak. We found Beedrill, so it’s only Marowak missing.”

“Really? Good job, Gengar!” Goh placed a hand on Gengar’s head, making the ghost blush. Ash grinned; after all this time, Gengar still had a shy side when praised. 

Not to be outdone, Zee darted closer and twittered at Goh. Unfortunately, Goh didn’t understand. With a twitch of its head, Zee dove back into the computer. A moment later, a Pokeball popped out.

Ash gaped. “It can’t be that easy.”

Zee swooped up, circling around Goh’s shoulders as he picked up the Pokeball. It was one Team Rocket’s black and red balls. “Thank you,” Goh said.

Before Ash could say anything, Goh released Marowak. Unlike Beedrill, Marowak didn’t come out swinging, but he did freeze on the spot. When Goh approached, Marowak shied away and lifted his bone club defensively.

Ash tilted his head. It was the same gesture Goh had made with his hand when Ash had leaned in for that kiss. Huh.

Goh crouched in front of Marowak. “Hey, Marowak. It’s just me. I’m sorry. You must be pretty scared, huh?”

Ash looked to Pikachu, whose ears drooped with worry. They didn’t have time for this. He crouched down, too. “Goh, we have to keep moving. Can we do this when we get back?”

Goh offered him an apologetic smile before turning his attention back to Marowak. He could remember when Marowak was still a tiny Cubone, so lonely and afraid. He had grown so much since then. Some people said that Cubone evolved when they replaced their grief with a violent temper. That hadn’t been true for his Cubone. 

“You know, people used to think that Cubone evolved when they hardened their hearts,” Goh said. “That they replaced their grief with anger. That wasn’t true for you, was it?”

Marowak seemed to be listening, so Goh continued. “Remember when we met? You trusted all my friends to help find your bone. Then you chose to join us, and you grew up with everyone else at Cerise Park. You evolved when you weren’t lonely anymore. But you feel lonely right now, don’t you?”

Pikachu hopped down from Ash’s shoulder. Gengar and Zee drifted closer, too. Marowak glanced back and forth as they approached, and he loosened his grip on his bone.

“It’s okay. You might feel lonely now, but you’re still loved.” Goh held out his arms. “There’s no way we would leave you here. I promise I’ll get you to safety. Come on, let’s go home.”

With the other Pokemon’s encouragement, Marowak slowly stepped into Goh’s embrace. Ash felt something like a mist evaporating into the air, leaving a certain freshness in its wake. Maybe a last bit of the shadow aura dissipating? He shrugged it off. 

With a few final pats, Goh returned first Marowak and then Zee to their Pokeballs.

Ash held out his arms just as Goh had, and he smiled at the gesture. “Don’t be cheesy,” he said, even as he drooped against Ash’s shoulder. Ash squeezed him close.

“Home?” he asked.

“Please.”

It took longer than expected to sneak out of the bunker. Luckily, Goh got a good look when Matori walked him in, and Pikachu kept an ear out for any Team Rocket members in the halls. They made it as far as the elevators. Someone had smashed the controls.

“Matori…” Goh glanced over his shoulder. “She was stalling the rest of Team Rocket.”

Ash hesitated. As much as he did not care about helping Goh’s kidnapper, she had helped them. “Do we need to go back?”

Goh sighed. “No. She had Kadabra and Meowth.” He expected that she had teleported away at the first opportunity. With Giovanni still somewhere in the building, they couldn’t risk going back to check.

Ash accepted his answer and asked Gengar to help them out one more time. By the time they reached the surface, Goh was half-frozen from phasing through the walls. Ash didn’t give him any opportunity to warm up. Within a few minutes, they were airborne on Dragonite’s back as red and blue lights strobed below them.

Goh gaped at the sight of the International Police swarming around the building. “You called in backup?”

“Not a dumb kid anymore,” Ash said. From his position in the front of Ash’s shirt, Pikachu hummed doubtfully. “Your safety was on the line. I wasn’t taking any chances.”

“Not taking--” Goh spluttered. “Ash! You snuck around Team Rocket’s secret base! You battled a crime boss! You took all kinds of stupid risks!”

“So did you,” Ash pointed out. That didn’t stop Goh from trying to elicit a promise that Ash wouldn’t do it again. Ash made no such promise… but they had a long flight back to Vermilion for Goh to make his arguments.

Riding back to Vermilion on Dragonite’s back had left Goh exhausted. It was well past midnight before they arrived, and Goh was ready to drop into bed. The last thing he wanted to do was stop at the hospital. He tried to convince Dragonite to take them home instead, but she squished him in a tight hug. He couldn’t escape until Ash had already signed him in. 

“This is coercion,” Goh said.

“This is concern from your adoring boyfriend.” Ash smooched his forehead, and Goh resigned himself to the checkup with a put-upon sigh. 

As they waited, Ash called Chloe. She picked up on the first ring. He reassured her that they were both okay, and she offered to call everyone else. “You just keep an eye on Goh. I’ll check on you in the morning, okay?” He thanked her. 

By then, the doctor had arrived. Ash was annoyed when the young man flirted with Goh, who was too tired to notice. Then the doctor directed Goh to remove his shirt. Ash forgot his annoyance when he noticed the new bruise on Goh’s shoulder.

Goh reached over to squeeze Ash’s hand. When the doctor drifted to the door to call a nurse over, Goh whispered, “You’ll kiss it better, right?” Ash laughed.

The doctor released them with some painkillers and a phone number that Ash tossed in the nearest trash can. Half-asleep, Goh clung to Ash’s side, letting him lead the way back to their apartment.

Despite everything, Ash found himself pressing a smile against Goh’s hair. They were both safe, together, going home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter highlights: Cinderace gets his moment to shine, we find out what happens to Meowth, and the boys come to a new arrangement.


	10. Meowth

The next morning, Goh woke up squished under a pile of Pokemon. Cinderace and Lucario pressed against him on either side, Inteleon’s tail wrapped around his ankle, and Gengar sprawled on top of everyone else. Even Marowak, Beedrill, and Zee had settled amongst the pillows.

It would have been perfect, if Ash and Pikachu weren’t missing. 

Goh carefully detangled himself and wiggled out to the edge of the bed. He almost tripped over Dragonite, who had curled up beside the mattress. She yawned, readjusted the Jigglypuff doll she had been using as a pillow, and reached out in her sleep. Goh scrambled over her to avoid getting trapped in a sleepy hug.

He found Ash on the couch with Pikachu stretched across his stomach. Those yellow ears twitched as Goh approached. “Pika?”

“Go back to sleep.” Goh stroked along the stripes on his back. The electric mouse’s face slackened as he drifted back to dreamland.

“Mmm… Goh?” Ash blinked. “Sorry. Bed was a little crowded last night….”

“No kidding.” Goh reached up and stroked Ash’s hair, too. Ash was quick to drop off again, and Goh got up to find some clothes and his phone. Ren had offered to feed his Pokemon that morning, and Goh texted him back a thanks. Then he texted Ash’s phone that he was going out to grab coffee and breakfast for everyone in the apartment.

By the time he reached the front door, Cinderace appeared at his side. He grumbled as Goh locked up behind them. “You could’ve stayed in bed,” Goh said, and Cinderace stubbornly shook his head.

Goh walked down to the coffee shop where he and Chloe had stopped Friday night. Cinderace chose a variety of Poffins while Goh ordered a coffee and a milk tea for Ash. His stomach rumbled as he waited, so he grabbed a pair of cake pops, too. Cinderace perked up when Goh handed him one. “Don’t tell Pikachu,” he warned. 

As they walked out, Goh’s phone buzzed in his pocket. Even with Cinderace carrying the bag of Poffins, Goh had to juggle the drinks to free up a hand. Ash had responded with a dozen heart emojis.

“Cinderaaace.” His Pokemon poked at his cheeks, teasing him for the way the text made him blush.

Goh turned away and almost bumped into someone. He glanced up. “Can I help you?”

“Yeah.” The man leaned closer to him. “You’re the brat with the phone, aren’t ya?”

It took him a minute to recognize the guy who had hit on Chloe the other night. “Oh. Right. Listen, I’m in a hurry…”

“That’s too bad.” The man held up a Pokeball and released a Poliwrath, who blocked their way with flexed arms. “Let’s battle, punk.”

Goh turned to Cinderace, who shrugged. Goh took the bag, and Cinderace stretched his neck to either side.

Then he bounced into the air and hit Poliwrath with a kick that knocked him across the street.

The man gaped at his knocked-out Pokemon. Goh sipped his coffee and stared until the man gathered up his Poliwrath and scurried away. Behind him, Cinderace snickered.

Matori checked over her shoulder as she stepped off the ferry. She was pretty sure she had lost her tail on the mainland, but the closer they got to Hau’oli City, the more Matori got the feeling that someone was watching them. 

In her arms, Meowth growled. His battle with Persian had left a bandage over one eye. If Kadabra hadn’t been able to teleport them away, his injuries would have been worse. As it was, Matori had no intention of stepping foot in Kanto again for the foreseeable future. They had left a legion of enemies behind them.

“This is your first time coming back to Alola, huh?”

“Meh.” Meowth turned away from her.

Matori sighed. She had worried when Meowth rebelled against the project in its early stages. The more Meowth protested, the more Giovanni had taken notice. When Matori learned that her Pokemon assistant had been used as a test subject, she had been furious. At first she thought it was simply because she would be losing a competent assistant. 

Then Meowth reacted badly to the hypnotic process. For weeks he had sulked in a cage, biting at his paws and snarling every time she approached. Finally Matori realized she was angry at herself. Somewhere along the way, Meowth had become her partner in a way that she had never expected, and her work had resulted in his suffering. 

After that, she started to plan her exit from Team Rocket. For the first time, she understood why Jessie had retired, and she found herself envious of her former rival. 

“This will be a new start for us,” she said. Meowth groaned, unimpressed… but Kadabra stepped up beside her, dragging behind him a suitcase filled with the research from Cerise Laboratory. “We have plenty of work to do, don’t we?”

As they walked off the ferry, a shadow flitted over the sun. Meowth turned his face toward the sky and narrowed his eyes. “Mmm.”

After breakfast, Goh gathered up the crowd of Pokemon and took them back to Cerise Park. Ash offered to tag along, but Goh waved him off. “You haven’t touched your studies this weekend. Don’t you have a test coming up?” 

Ash groaned. “After everything that’s happened, you expect me to focus on a textbook?”

Goh grinned and leaned over the back of the couch to whisper in his ear, “If you finish by this afternoon, I have a surprise in mind.” 

Ash twisted and tried to grab Goh’s hand, but Goh stepped out of the way. “No cheating!” he laughed. “Work hard, and I’ll catch up with you in a few hours.”

At the lab, Goh checked on everyone at the park. A few Pokemon sported scrapes or scratches, but that seemed to be the worst of the injuries. Beedrill rejoined the other Bug Pokemon, and Marowak raced over to greet Golurk. Goh would have been happy to linger among his Pokemon, maybe help clean up some of the fallen trees, but then Yamper appeared to nip at his ankles and herd him toward the lab. 

Chloe greeted him with a big hug. “Are you okay?”

“Sore,” he admitted, “but yeah, I’m good. Did you see the news?” The International Police had raided Team Rocket’s headquarters and recovered a number of stolen Pokemon. The news reported that the Pokemon had been distressed, which made Goh think that maybe his and Ash’s gamble hadn’t been quite as successful as he’d hoped. 

Then again, trainers were already showing up to reclaim their missing partners, so he had high hopes for the “purified” Pokemon.

Professor Cerise and Chrysa insisted on hearing the full story, and Goh offered them a heavily edited version of the previous day’s events. The professor peppered him with questions, and Chrysa promised to update the lab’s security. Ren was distracted when Zee took an immediate liking to Francois. The Magnemite toured Zee around the main lab, and Ren trailed along behind, scribbling notes as the pair poked around various electronics. 

The professor leaned back in his seat. “As always, you’ve brought me all kinds of mysteries to dive into. With you around, we never lack for something to study.”

At the word “study,” Goh glanced at his phone. Chloe noticed. “Oh, just go on. We all know you have someplace you’d rather be.” Her dad chuckled, and even Chrysa offered a gentle smile. 

Goh tucked his phone back into his pocket. “Actually, Chloe, I have a favor to ask.”

Ash found Goh among the stacks, paging through a book that looked older than he was. Pikachu dashed over to join Cinderace on one of the beanbags stashed in a corner among the shelves. Goh glanced up. “Hey, you made it.”

“Yup.” Ash shifted the strap of his bag. He figured if anyone bothered to ask them what they were doing in the empty school building, he could at least look the part of the serious teacher. “How did you get in here?”

“Chloe knows some of the other teachers,” Goh explained. Then he held up the book he’d found. “Did you know that this library has a full collection of the Sinnoh creation myths?”

“I’ve had enough reading for one day.” Ash pried the book out of Goh’s hands and placed it back on the shelf. “What are we doing here?”

Goh bit his lip, and for a moment, he looked as nervous as Ash felt. “Well… this place has bad memories for you, right? So I thought, maybe we can make a good memory.”

Ash leaned closer, edging Goh back against the books. “How do we do that?” 

Goh smirked. “That’s inappropriate, teach. This is a _school _.”__

__Ash gawked at him, too surprised to come up with a retort before Goh tugged him back toward the wooden reading tables. Goh sat on top of the nearest table. Despite Goh’s teasing, Ash stepped close enough to place his hands on either side of Goh’s hips._ _

__Where Goh’s shirt collar dipped, Ash could glimpse the bruise on his shoulder. Goh caught him looking and tilted his head to one side. “You can look if you need to,” he said, turning red even as he suggested it._ _

__Ash saw his opportunity. “Oh, but that wouldn’t be _appropriate_.” _ _

__Goh’s blush brightened, and he leaned back on his hands. “So… I think this is where we were before we got interrupted. I had something to tell you.”_ _

__“Right.” Ash had actually forgotten about that already, but they were standing exactly where they had been when Pikachu interrupted Kadabra’s hypnosis. “Better hurry up and say it before anything else happens.”_ _

__Earlier teasing forgotten, Goh reached up and placed his palm flat over Ash’s heart. “I wanted to tell you… I know that things are different now. We both have new goals.”_ _

__“Like studying those anthro-whatever Pokemon?”_ _

__Goh blinked, distracted. “How’d you know about that?”_ _

__“Ren told me.” Ash shook his head. He could ask more about that later. “Sorry. Go on.”_ _

__“Like working at the lab and getting your teaching degree,” Goh said. “I know, sometimes, we’re going to get busy and miss each other.”_ _

__Ash placed one of his hands over Goh’s. “I don’t like to think about what my life would look like without you.”_ _

__“I’m still in this,” Goh said. “I want to build a life together. You, me, and a couple hundred Pokemon.”_ _

__That startled a laugh out of Ash. “Way to take the romance out of it,” he said, but he leaned in to seal the deal with a kiss anyway. Maybe they hadn’t fixed everything yet, but he could see a path forward. He could just picture study dates at the lab or Goh fiddling with his phone while Ash went over lessons plans. Ash knew it wouldn’t be that simple, but he wanted to make it work._ _

__“I still choose you,” Ash said._ _

__“I choose _you_.” Goh smiled, and it was enough to make Ash’s heart swell. “So? Do you have a good memory of this place now?”_ _

__Ash nodded. “The best.”_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo. Finished just in time before I head out of town. When I get back, I'm seriously considering a third and final part to this series. If you have any interest in such a thing, please let me know in the comments. Thank you to everyone who has read the series so far. You have been so kind and thoughtful. Love you all!


End file.
